Community Corner

Willow Creek Spelling Bee Champ Keeps Busy With Variety of Activities

Austin Moca, 10, finds time to be a Cub Scout, musician, athlete, stage performer.

Spelling bee champion Austin Moca can spell the word "downtime," but it’s not one that fits well in his vocabulary.

Besides trying to learn new words on a regular basis, the 10-year-old, who this year took first place in 's spelling bee, is also a member of the 2011 Woodridge Fusion travel baseball team, plays in several different bands, is an avid chess player, a member of Woodridge Cub Scout Pack 511 and plans to take golf lessons this summer.

In between, he finds time to play video games, read and hang out with his friends. Austin said he likes keeping busy.

“It’s kind of fun,” he said. “You get to do a lot of new things and meet new people and make friends.”

Diane Moca said her high-energy son takes after her.

“I like to go, go, go,” she said. “I don’t mind packing in a bunch of things in one day.”

Neither does Austin.

“One day he went from a chess tournament to a piano recital to a baseball game,” Diane Moca said.

And even when given the choice of sitting out on an activity, Austin refuses.

“I’ll say to him, ‘Are you sure you want to take tennis if you’re going to have baseball?’ And he’ll say, 'Yes, I do,’” Diane Moca said. “About anything, if you say, ‘Would you like to try this?,’ he usually says yes.”

When it comes to his musical ability, Austin takes after his father who plays in a band. Austin has played the piano for four years, and is a member of Flaming Hot Cheese. The band performs music from the Eagles, the Beatles, AC/DC and Coldplay.

The band's members range in age from 10 to 13. In his school band, he plays the flute. He also plays the piano in a jazz band with seventh- and eighth-graders.

A thespian, Austin also enjoys the stage. Last fall, he played one of the lead roles in Willow Creek's performance of "Dracula."

“I like to get up in front of everyone and show them what talent I’ve got,” he said.

But he also very much enjoys being a part of a team.

“I like to work together with others,” he said. “If I win something, it’s not just me getting all the fame, it’s everybody that worked with me.”

Despite being on summer break, Austin is still on the lookout for new words to learn.

“The other day he asked if neurotic was a word,” Diane Moca said.

She told him it was, and asked him to spell it.

“It’s become a habit in our household,” she said. “He is very cognizant of the fact that the more you practice, the better you’re going to do.”

Although Austin is a great speller, he admits there is one word that stumps him.

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” he said. “It’s the hardest word I’ve ever heard.”


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